short shrift
noun
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We’ve got a confession to make, but we’ll keep it brief: while it’s technically possible to make “long shrift” of something, you’re unlikely to find long shrift in our (virtual or actual) pages anytime soon. Short shrift, on the other hand, has been keeping it real—real terse, that is—for centuries. The earliest known use of the phrase comes from William Shakespeare’s play Richard III, in which Lord Hastings, who has been condemned by King Richard to be beheaded, is told by Sir Richard Ratcliffe to “Make a short shrift” as the king “longs to see your head.” Although now archaic, the noun shrift was understood in Shakespeare’s time to refer to the confession or absolution of sins, so “make a short shrift” meant, quite literally, “keep your confession short.” However, since at least the 19th century the phrase has been used figuratively to refer to a small or inadequate amount of time or attention given to something.
Examples of short shrift in a Sentence
David Fear, Rolling Stone, 28 Sep. 2025
That’s not to say that the green goddess gets the short shrift.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Leaders shouldn’t give short shrift to soft skills either.
—Aytekin Tank, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
His latest along with that first feature continue his intention to tell stories about everyday working-class people, characters too often that are given short shrift by Hollywood.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for short shrift
Cite this Entry
“Short shrift.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/short%20shrift. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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